Well ... it definitely wasn't MINE - obviously! But on I discovered an obituary notice for a guy called Alec M - whom I'd known as 'Ally' since my early days as a member of the Boys' Brigade.

Over the years, I hadn't had a lot of dealings with this man ... apart from seeing him from time to time at BB Council Meetings. However, in early November 2008 - a week before my second trip to the Phils - he kindly gave me a lift to a special Parade & Reunion in Kinross, to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of the Organisation's founding.

So when I read of his [apparent] demise, I decided to attend the funeral service this forenoon as a mark of respect. Despite the crematorium chapel being pretty-well-filled to capacity, I failed to see anyone I knew among the mourners, as I glanced furtively around me ... and began to feel a bit uneasy. My fears were confirmed as the officiating clergyman finally took his place at the lectern. ... he was a Roman Catholic priest! And, of course, Ally being a BB stalwart, HE'D been a Protestant.

As I already mentioned, there was no one in the assembled congregation I'd recognised ... therefore I figured nobody present was likely to know ME either - thankfully!

Happily, it means the Ally M, I'D been associated with is still very much alive (as far as I'm aware!). By some macabre coincidence, both men bore the exact same names (and nickname); moreover, each of them was raised - and worked - in the same small county town 17 miles from Perth!!